ANA/4A’S WHITE PAPER Agency Reviews for Project Work Guidance Considerations TABLE OF CONTENTS I. PURPOSE I. PURPOSE .......................................................1 Best practices for conducting an agency search for an Agency of Record (AOR) are well documented in both II. BACKGROUND ................................................2 the ANA/4A’s Guidelines for Agency Search and the • Agency of Record (AOR) Model Agency Selection Briefing Guidance. Agency reviews • Project by Project (PxP) Model for project work, however, do not have a similar guidance tool. Project assignments are limited in time • Is a Review Even Necessary? and scope, and are usually driven by a need to address a defined business opportunity. III. WHY PROJECT REVIEW EFFICIENCY IS IMPORTANT ..............................................4 There is no industry-wide consistency in how agency reviews for project work should be conducted, but there • For Clients is an opportunity to streamline the agency selection • For Agencies review process to be more efficient and effective, given the short-term nature of these relationships. IV. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR AN EFFICIENT PROJECT REVIEW PROCESS .....5 Project assignments are on the rise. In the 4A’s 2014 Survey on Reviews for Project Assignments, 91 percent • Overall of advertising agency respondents reported working on • For Clients projects for new clients. Almost half (48 percent) of the project assignments required agencies to compete for • For Agencies the assignment. Furthermore, project fees varied widely, from $10,000 to over $1 million. According to the survey, V. PROJECT SCOPE, COMPLEXITY, AND project assignments are often for strategy and creative REVIEW OBJECTIVE DYNAMICS .......................7 development but can also cover areas such as website (a) Short-Term Tactical Assignments development, social media, PR, media planning, and • For Clients media buying. • For Agencies As the number of competitive reviews for project assignments increases, the ANA and the 4A’s have (b) Intermediate-Term and Complex Assignments collaborated to provide both clients and agencies with • For Clients considerations to help optimize the review process. • For Agencies PROJECT REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS SUMMARY ...9 TASK FORCE MEMBERS ......................................10 II. BACKGROUND There has been a significant amount of recent discussion around the relative merits of “agency of record (AOR)” and “project by project (PxP)” client-agency relationship models. There are pros and cons to each model, and they are not mutually exclusive. Agency of Record (AOR) Model The AOR, the traditional client-agency model, is a retainer arrangement based on leveraging continuity and joint investment of talent and resources in enduring relationships. The AOR model encourages the agency to invest its talent in continuous comprehensive servicing of the client’s business, strategy, and implementation requirements, and helps optimize continuity of staffing. The AOR approach typically provides the client with a level of dedicated agency resources at agreed-upon terms, and makes it easier to coordinate integrated marketing communications. There may be times, however, when the client isn’t engaged in an AOR relationship, or when an AOR model doesn’t address a client’s needs for specialty expertise, limited-time service, or additional thinking outside the existing relationship. Project by Project (PxP) Model The fragmentation of media, expanded specialist marketing resources, and client-side financial pressures have led to an increase in project-by-project-based relationships. Project assignments are limited in time and scope, and are usually driven by a need to address a defined business opportunity. PxP relationships are different from the AOR model in a number of important ways; PxP engagements enable clients to consider less familiar agency candidates that may not make a shortlist under an AOR review. • PxP assignments enable agencies to engage in a category they may not otherwise have an opportunity to be involved with. • A client may not have the need for ongoing agency support but does have a need for specialized expertise, so a shorter-term engagement may be more appropriate. • A project provides both sides the opportunity to “try out” a relationship before making a longer-term commitment. • The PxP model could be a “springboard” leading to additional and more substantial business. Clients and agencies engaging in PxP relationships should take the following into consideration: • Because of its short-term nature, a project model can limit agency engagement in the client’s ongoing strategy and planning process. • PxP relationships can make continuity and coordination more difficult. • PxP relationships can limit the ability of an agency to plan and scale staffing requirements efficiently and leverage brand knowledge and learning. • Agency cost and pricing dynamics may be different for PxP and AOR/retainer models. It is suggested that clients considering PxP models share their thinking with agency candidates so that each can fairly evaluate the opportunity and reflect that in their project proposals. The PxP model is focused on selecting the best agency for a specific task, whereas the focus of the AOR model is to select the best agency to provide ongoing strategic counsel and deliver against an ongoing statement of work. 2 ANA/4A’s Agency Reviews for Project Work Guidance Considerations Is a Review Even Necessary? In addition to deciding what kind of relationship with a prospective agency is needed, clients should think about how they will choose that agency. In the case of a project-based relationship, clients may choose not to conduct a formal agency review — not all projects benefit from one. A more streamlined approach for these smaller assignments saves time and effort on both sides and enables the agency to get started on the work sooner. There are times, however, when clients want to become familiar with agency candidates they know little or nothing about, or the project is high-budget, complex, or of longer duration. Clients should consider both the project need and their longer-term agency roster goals when determining whether to invest the time and attention required to conduct a formal agency review for a project assignment. 3 ANA/4A’s Agency Reviews for Project Work Guidance Considerations III. WHY PROJECT REVIEW EFFICIENCY IS IMPORTANT Project review efficiency has many benefits for clients and agencies. For Clients • Speed to market An inefficiently conducted review (e.g., too many agencies involved, too many steps in the timeline) takes valuable time out of the marketing calendar. • Broader agency selection pool The 4A’s 2014 Survey on Reviews for Project Assignments noted that many agencies are declining to participate in pitches for project assignments. When the review process is streamlined, more agencies are inclined to participate. • Costs and distractions decrease Conducting a review of any kind is a costly endeavor, measured in both time and opportunity. An efficient process limits cost and distraction. • Getting to the right answer Streamlined timelines, clear briefings, and agency access to client-side decision-makers all increase the likelihood of arriving at a smart, viable solution. • Clients ultimately pay agency review costs The cost of reviews (which can be substantial for agencies) are built into every agency’s overhead. The more inefficient the review process, the higher the fees for all of an agency’s clients. Efficient selection processes benefit both client and agency. For Agencies • Resource allocation With increasing pressure on agency margins, agencies don’t have the luxury of a “bench” from which to draw talent when a project review arises. To participate, agencies must either pull talent from existing clients or use freelance talent. • Non-billable time Agencies need to carefully manage non-billable time. The more time agencies dedicate to the process, the less time they have to spend on revenue-generating business. Agencies need to optimize how they deploy resources to maximize the efficiency of the agency overall. 4 ANA/4A’s Agency Reviews for Project Work Guidance Considerations IV. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR AN EFFICIENT PROJECT REVIEW PROCESS Overall • It’s prudent practice for clients to share project budgets (or a range of expected spending) with agencies early in the process so that agencies can assess the opportunity. If this important information isn’t provided to the agency until the end of the process, the risk is that agencies withdraw or suggest solutions that are unaffordable or inadequate for the client’s needs, leaving the client to start over. • Have a discussion about proprietary information/ideas that will be shared. Have that conversation early in the process and document mutual understandings in a NDA (non-disclosure agreement). • Have an early open discussion about exclusivity/conflicts and come to agreement on a competitive set appropriate to the scale of the project. Given the short-term nature of most projects, conflict parameters, if any, should be abbreviated, tightly defined based on competitive lines of business, and appropriately calibrated to the scope and scale of the relationship. For PxP relationships, where confidentiality/conflicts are a concern, consider a confidentiality/ conflicts framework that is based on key agency personnel who work on the project assignment rather than aggregate agency restrictions (i.e., limit key agency individuals from